WSB SPONSORS

ANOTHER LOOK: Orcas’ West Seattle weekend visit

We featured some photos of Saturday’s orca visit while they were in the area – and tonight, we have more photos, this time courtesy of Kersti Muul. She explains that her photos show “T102 and his Mama T101 passing by Alki Point Lighthouse yesterday, heading south at 2:15 PM.”

Kersti told us, “They were breathtakingly close and stunning in the bright sun. There were dozens of people on shore screaming and hooting and hollering. It made me cry to see the community so enthralled by these whales. As a volunteer, my favorite thing is when someone sees them for the first time, and having a part in that process as someone once did for me. It NEVER gets old.”

Kersti also shared two photos of the research boat with Mark and Maya Sears “to show you just how LARGE these guys are. In this (next) photo it is T100E in the front and T100C in the rear.”

The transient orcas are a completely different population from the residents. One big difference – their diet includes smaller marine mammals such as seals and sea lions, while the residents subsist almost entirely on fish, primarily salmon.

P.S. One more reminder for everyone interested in whales – The Whale Trail‘s next event, featuring researcher John Calambokidis talking about the increase in humpback and gray whales in Puget Sound, is Thursday at 7 pm at the Dakota Place Park Building; tickets are available here.

I’m the first to complain about boat distance…..but in the case of the researchers they sometimes are collecting samples of things that necessitates being close. They are NOAA permitted. Fecal, breath etc. Also ID photos.

Although not collecting fecal samples with the T’s

It is usually the WW boats that are in violation, but enforcement is non-existent in south sound and citation is a rare occurrence. Both of these things need to change.

Kersti, would you PLEASE consider adding these photos to iNaturalist? From the 14th-18th is the Seattle City Nature Challenge, a citizen science urban bioblitz. This observation would be the jewel in the crown!